The NCAA Basketball Tournament may be the most unpredictable
event in the world of sports. This is
reason behind March Madness and why filling out the brackets is so much
fun. This year was no exception to the
rule. If anything it was an even stranger
year than normal.
The opening weekend was especially unkind to our
household. My wife’s Alma Mater, UConn,
was picked apart by Iowa State. Then my
favorite, Missouri, decided to see if they could win a game by just stepping on
the floor and lost to Norfolk State in the biggest upset in the
tournament. A few hours after that my
co-writer’s favorite team, Duke, became the second No. 2 seed to have an early
exit, with the loss to Lehigh.
Then there were the injuries and suspensions that took out two
of the number one seeds and potential favorites. Syracuse was able to survive a couple rounds
without the academically ineligible, Fab Melo.
But the lack of inside depth came to haunt them in the Elite 8. Likewise, North Carolina was able to get by without power forward John Henson in the opening
round, but once they lost point guard, Kendall Marshall, they became an easy
target in the second week of the tournament.
The other number one that was eliminated early was Michigan
State, but they were easily the weakest of the number one seeds .
So that leads us to the Final Four. Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State and
Kansas. Louisville and Kansas were two
teams that could’ve had first round upsets and no one would’ve been
surprised. Ohio State has sort of been under the radar,
though they really haven’t played
anyone, except the short-handed Syracuse, in the Elite 8.
Of the final four, Kentucky looks to be the strongest
team. Their offense looks unstoppable
and their defense can be oppressive. They
did give up 90 points to a very tough Indiana team, but they made Baylor look
awful. Kentucky does have a lot of
freshmen, who will likely be in the NBA next year. Plus their semi-final game is against
in-state rival Louisville.
Realistically, any of these teams could win it all this
year. All four have solid players and
top-tier coaches and just as many weaknesses as the other four teams.
Just to show how unpredictable this year has been, my
sister, Heidi, who watches less college basketball than my dog, was the only
person in the family pool to pick all four final four teams. Oh, and the only person in the family that
can beat my sister is her 3-year old daughter.
~Brad
